Officials urge planning for Wednesday storm

Tuesday, February 9, 2010 -- Anonymous (not verified)

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Local Coverage

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Author(s):

Laura Crimaldi

State officials are warning workers to check with their employers before leaving for work tomorrow morning as the region braces for a major storm that has already dumped 10-to-20 inches of snow on the mid-Atlantic.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch as forecasters predict as much as 9 inches of snow could fall on portions of southern Massachusetts and Cape Cod.

“People should start planning ahead as to where they should be tomorrow,” said Kurt N. Schwartz, undersecretary of law enforcement and fire services at the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. “They need to be preparing for a major snow storm that includes difficult driving and the possibilty of power outages.”

Schwartz said state emergency officials are reaching out to major utilities to inquire about their staffing levels given many crews were dispatched to the mid-Atlantic to restore power after last weekend’s storm.

State employees are being instructed to check in with their supervisors tomorrow morning about whether to head into work, Schwartz said.

The Department of Transportation is advising motorists to plan for the evening commute and take public transportation. The storm is expected to start after the morning commute and continue through early Thursday.

“If people wait a long time to go home from work they are going to have a long ride home especially south of the city,” said NWS meteorologist Alan Dunham. “Route 3 is going to be an ugly road to travel. Route 24 is not going to be much better.”

Highway Division Administrator Luisa Paiewonsky said more than 4,000 pieces of equipment, more than 500 personnel and thousands of private contractors will be dispatched to clear the roads. She added state highways will be pretreated with anti-icing material about an hour or two before the storm.

Paiewonsky advised motorists to give plow operators plenty of room.

“It’s a lot safer to drive behind the plow. You don’t want to be darting in and around such heavy, fast-moving equipment,” she said.

Paiewonsky added plow operators have their work cut out for them given forecasters predict rapid snow fall.

“When it falls 1 to 2 inches an hour, that’s straining the ability of the plow to keep it off the road,” she said.

Dunham said the storm will produce wind gusts between 40 and 50 miles per hour with the strongest winds blowing over Cape Cod and the islands.